I think Del Rey signing a new contract is the most likely scenario. I remember back in 2004 or 2005 when their contract was ending I was really hoping a new publisher would pick it up because I didn't like what Del Rey did with the NJO...

And I respectfully disagree. As far as I was concerned, the NJO was the best thing that had happened to Star Wars since Star Wars itself. The only book I didn't very much enjoy was Destiny's Way. Man was that a hard read. Every other book, though, including The Force Heretic trilogy, absolutely made my day. And The Unifying Force...I still cannot imagine a better conclusion to a series.

On this note, my point being that I was very apprehensive when Del Rey's contract was running out. Of course, that was then. Now...not so much.

There is only one thing about Del Rey that I consider priceless. Their attention to continuity. If that has something to do with higher authorities...then I believe the contract could switch hands. But if this is solely Del Rey's doing...I would be apprehensive about any other company taking up the torch, including Lucas creating his own firm. We've seen the headaches that TCW causes. Can you imagine such chaos within the novels themselves? I fear we'd lose a lot of fanbase, myself included.

So...with that, I think it would depend greatly on the handling of continuity. Authors are not tied to a particular company, and they're the ones who write the stories. Gaining a new firm could be an excellent move. But I suppose we won't actually know that until it happens._________________"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 12:15 am

Message

Crash OverrideMaster

Joined: 22 Dec 2010Posts: 1962

Mara Jade Skywalker wrote:

LivingJediDream wrote:

I think Del Rey signing a new contract is the most likely scenario. I remember back in 2004 or 2005 when their contract was ending I was really hoping a new publisher would pick it up because I didn't like what Del Rey did with the NJO...

And I respectfully disagree. As far as I was concerned, the NJO was the best thing that had happened to Star Wars since Star Wars itself. The only book I didn't very much enjoy was Destiny's Way. Man was that a hard read. Every other book, though, including The Force Heretic trilogy, absolutely made my day. And The Unifying Force...I still cannot imagine a better conclusion to a series.

On this note, my point being that I was very apprehensive when Del Rey's contract was running out. Of course, that was then. Now...not so much.

There is only one thing about Del Rey that I consider priceless. Their attention to continuity. If that has something to do with higher authorities...then I believe the contract could switch hands. But if this is solely Del Rey's doing...I would be apprehensive about any other company taking up the torch, including Lucas creating his own firm. We've seen the headaches that TCW causes. Can you imagine such chaos within the novels themselves? I fear we'd lose a lot of fanbase, myself included.

So...with that, I think it would depend greatly on the handling of continuity. Authors are not tied to a particular company, and they're the ones who write the stories. Gaining a new firm could be an excellent move. But I suppose we won't actually know that until it happens.

I agree about the New Jedi Order series now. At the time I was reading it, it was extremely dark and that seemed in stark contrast to the two contemporary prequel films. It also seemed like a punch in the gut that Coruscant was -- we were told -- permanently altered by the Yuuzhan Vong, when we were just visually introduced to it in the prequel films. The series destroyed a lot of the Bantam EU planets as well. It seemed like it was really destructive.

However, viewed in retrospect, its adoption of the redemptive theme of Return of the Jedi and its expansion of it really give The Unifying Force the same excellent send-off that Return of the Jedi did. It was also a lot deeper than any of the prior expanded universe, especially Traitor, a book that I've re-read at least six times and each time I've come away from it with something new and a completely different interpretation.

So no argument from me. I was just pointing out how different my view is now than it was seven years ago.

As to your question on licensing, Taral, I was aware of the EU back then, but I didn't consider it to be proper Star Wars, so I didn't read it - and so I cannot answer your question.

Now, to answer all the other stuff popping up. Let me remind you of Lucasbooks. At the moment it is merely a publishing arm of Lucasfilm, however, it has diversified into areas of comic, fiction and non fiction in the SW world and Indiana Jones world. While their attempts are small, limited to magazines at the moment, it's possible that they could extend their reach to the proportions that have been discussed here. As far as I'm aware, they've stuck to continuity in their stories (though I can't really be sure), but I'm agreed with (I think) Mara, in that I'd probably leave the fanbase if they messed with continuity.

I don't think anyone would want to pay for the license

I disagree on the simple premise of: It's Star Wars, for crying out loud!

Whoever gets the next license, they really need to just develop a setting and focus on it. I don't think jumping around the timeline without a "flagship" works.

I think the EU as a whole has somewhat overextended itself with the different time periods and settings, and saturated the market with stories

Again, I disagree. Indeed, it would make less sense, for me, if they didn't extend themselves by writing in different periods and settings. Limiting themselves to one era, one set of characters, for the rest of their publishing circle? That would be a waste of possible marketing and money-making opportunities.

As to your other point, I'm not really sure what you mean by 'develop a setting and focus on it'. I'm pretty sure you mean just picking one set of stories and developing it to be airtight, then I, again, disagree. They've a large enough department to do that now (though whether or not they do is a different matter), and, really, I don't think that would make for a very much better product at the end of it. All we'd get is a lot of background data that just an author and a continuity expert can do already, and a story which could very well be far too lean for my liking - far more lean than the beginning of FOTJ.

Sorry, Dream. It may appear that I'm picking on you, but really, at the moment, you're the one doing most of the talking!

unless some peers are fleshed out in the next series.

Agreed. This seems to be the general consensus among fans.

And lastly, I can't find the exact quote, but essentially it read like: Del Ray might not to continue beyond FOTJ, to link it with Legacy.

Actually, they do, and are making plans to do just that. I believe it was in her latest interview on Facebook that she stated that they have plans to link FOTJ and Legacy with future stories, so, really, I think that proves that Del Ray have, at least the intention, of continuing with stories and renewing their contract. So, as far as I'm concerned with licensing fears for the future: I have none._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 10:33 am

Message

WerehunterKnight

Joined: 08 Apr 2011Posts: 362

Damn, I was kind of hoping they wouldn't try to make the time line fit with the comic. Oh well.

Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 12:06 pm

Message

Darth SkuldrenModerator

Joined: 04 Feb 2008Posts: 6844Location: Missouri

I'm actually a post-1999 Star Wars book fan, so I can't answer your initial question. When I dove into the books, I don't think I ever really considered who the publisher was. As a reader, I didn't care.

Whether or not Del Rey will pick up the contract again doesn't bother me. If they do, then so be it. If they don't, then no big deal. However, I'm not sure Lucasfilm can step into that role. Del Rey is a part of Random House and they're one of the Big Six publishing houses. That's a big distributor to have behind your product. If Lucasfilm decided to step in, they'd still need one of the big publishing houses to help them with distribution.

There's also the big eBook factor. It'll be interesting to see if Del Rey starts pushing harder to promote eBooks or if they continue the current trend of underpromoting and overpricing._________________
"I believe toys resonate with us as humans, we can hold them them, it's tactile, real! They are totems for our extended beliefs and imaginations. A fetish for ideas that hold as much interest and passion as old religious relics for some. We display them in our homes. They show who we are. They are signals for similar thinking people. A way we connect with each other...and I guess thats why I do toys. That connection." -Ashley Wood

Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 9:38 pm

Message

Crash OverrideMaster

Joined: 22 Dec 2010Posts: 1962

Life Is The Path wrote:

I disagree on the simple premise of: It's Star Wars, for crying out loud!

No one has picked up the roleplaying game and card game license. Maybe that's because it's much more of a niche market, but I think SW novels are sort of becoming niche now that we're six years removed from the prequels.

Life Is The Path wrote:

Again, I disagree. Indeed, it would make less sense, for me, if they didn't extend themselves by writing in different periods and settings. Limiting themselves to one era, one set of characters, for the rest of their publishing circle? That would be a waste of possible marketing and money-making opportunities.

As to your other point, I'm not really sure what you mean by 'develop a setting and focus on it'. I'm pretty sure you mean just picking one set of stories and developing it to be airtight, then I, again, disagree. They've a large enough department to do that now (though whether or not they do is a different matter), and, really, I don't think that would make for a very much better product at the end of it. All we'd get is a lot of background data that just an author and a continuity expert can do already, and a story which could very well be far too lean for my liking - far more lean than the beginning of FOTJ.

Sorry, Dream. It may appear that I'm picking on you, but really, at the moment, you're the one doing most of the talking!

No offense taken. I just think that the Expanded Universe has had its "flagship" of the timeline continuing from Return of the Jedi onward all along featuring the protagonists of the classic trilogy, which has been the anchor for a lot of people to the EU. And lately, that's really started to lag in my mind, and I don't see how it's really tenable for them to continue it with Luke, Han, and Leia for much longer.

And my cousin, for instance, no longer reads the EU and when I told him I think it could reboot he's excited by the prospect, and he's been reading it longer than I have and introduced me to it. He simply dislikes how it's gone after NJO and he's done with it.

Before the prequels were released, the Expanded Universe was almost exclusively focused upon the Big 3, with the exceptions being young adult novels (Galaxy of Fear), the X-Wing series, and Dark Horse comics like Crimson Empire and Tales of the Jedi. The success of Heir to the Empire and later books was predicated largely upon them being the continuation of the films. It really wasn't until there were prequel films to reignite wider interest in the franchise that the Expanded Universe began to branch out to do horror, noir, military, MASH style war drama, etc.

I think now that we're as far removed from the prequels as we are, the market for Star Wars novels is smaller than it was when they were being produced. Del Rey or whoever else picks up the license can't afford to flood the market with miscellaneous Star Wars books set across the spectrum of the timeline and in different subgenres with no direction and no primary series for readers to follow. They need to develop a baseline to draw in readers and, through its own merits of excellent writing and characters, re-establish interest in Star Wars novels without relying upon the films. Sales have dropped lately, and they need to draw *new* people in and bring back old people like my cousin, and there's no movies to do that, so they need to do it through a book series that's an event, like the NJO. Any single book isn't going to bring a bunch of new readers in, or old ones back.

That's not to say they need to just publish books exclusively in one era, but they need to find something to focus on, like the post-ROTJ timeline has been the focus for the past twenty years. I don't think the way they've set up that timeline makes it tenable for that to continue to be the focus, so I think they need to either really develop peers for Ben et al. and develop the setting a lot better than they have, or change to a different one.

Life Is The Path wrote:

And lastly, I can't find the exact quote, but essentially it read like: Del Ray might not to continue beyond FOTJ, to link it with Legacy.

Actually, they do, and are making plans to do just that. I believe it was in her latest interview on Facebook that she stated that they have plans to link FOTJ and Legacy with future stories, so, really, I think that proves that Del Ray have, at least the intention, of continuing with stories and renewing their contract. So, as far as I'm concerned with licensing fears for the future: I have none.

In the Sue Rostoni interview that was just posted, she says they don't have any plans for post-FOTJ currently. Maybe they're planning something down the line, but with Legacy ending completely and Del Rey probably not doing post-FOTJ stuff until 2014, that earlier comment strikes me more as a "in the future, if there's a scenario similar to the FOTJ/Legacy one, we'll communicate more."

I've noticed that a lot of people here have started reading the Expanded Universe much more recently than I have, and maybe that's resulted in an entirely different perspective than what I have. For me, the Expanded Universe has always been primarily about Luke, Han, and Leia. That's been the constant for twenty years. Now, we've reached a point where that's coming to an end, and personally I am wondering where that will leave the Expanded Universe when it does. I personally am not nearly as interested in the entire gamut of the EU as I have been in following Luke, Han, and Leia. I've read almost every Star Wars novel that's been published, and I can probably count on my hands the ones I haven't read, but without the main storyline to follow I don't know if I will continue or if I will slowly lose interest and stop.

And I also wonder about the wider demographic of the readers, if the number of new readers that were introduced by the prequels or otherwise started reading more recently have been enough to replace the readers like my cousin who started at the beginning and have since stopped, or might stop like myself.

Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 9:56 pm

Message

WerehunterKnight

Joined: 08 Apr 2011Posts: 362

The EU books, at least the ones that take place post movies, are still mostly about Leia, Han and Luke. Sure there are other characters, but even them have strong ties to the those three. And in the end it's mainly those three and play major parts. Sure Jania had the final fight in Legacy of the Force, but Han, Leia and Luke all played major roles in that series. In Fate of the Jedi they are playing even larger roles. I'm having trouble understand exactly what you mean by they need to go back to those three. They never really went away from those three, in fact I believe that having them involved are preventing other characters from being fully developed. Because in the end it's all bout Leia, Han and Luke.

Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 10:11 pm

Message

Crash OverrideMaster

Joined: 22 Dec 2010Posts: 1962

Werehunter wrote:

The EU books, at least the ones that take place post movies, are still mostly about Leia, Han and Luke. Sure there are other characters, but even them have strong ties to the those three. And in the end it's mainly those three and play major parts. Sure Jania had the final fight in Legacy of the Force, but Han, Leia and Luke all played major roles in that series. In Fate of the Jedi they are playing even larger roles. I'm having trouble understand exactly what you mean by they need to go back to those three. They never really went away from those three, in fact I believe that having them involved are preventing other characters from being fully developed. Because in the end it's all bout Leia, Han and Luke.

I don't think they went away from them, but they should have, or at least begun to transition to Jacen, Jaina, and Ben. Now they have to make the switch because Han, Luke and Leia are becoming too old to be believable, and they don't really have any well developed characters to pass the torch to.

My concern is that now that they *have* to move away from them, will the EU maintain its readers? I think they could have transitioned so that it would not have been so jarring for Luke, Han, and Leia to stop being the focus.

Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 10:27 pm

Message

WerehunterKnight

Joined: 08 Apr 2011Posts: 362

Ah ok, I see what you're saying. I think they've introduced enough character to have them carry the books forward if needed. Granted none of them are as developed as they might be, but the ground work is there for them to build upon.

In the Jedi you have The Council Members, though admittedly many of them are the same age as Luke, Leia and Han. Then you have characters like Jania, Telki, Tesar, Lowie, the Horn siblings, and then they introduced a lot of young Jedi in Fate of the Jedi. Give them a book of their own to develop, maybe something like the X-wing books, and they can continue the Jedi stories. Then of course Ben.

With none Jedi, you have Jag controlling the Empire. Then you have Syal Antilles who can be the focal point of some new X-wing like books. They can use Gavin Darklighter in the Ackbar role. Lando's boy Chance is another character that they can use once they age him up a bit.

While it's not a whole lot, it's enough for them to build up with. Will they have the same appeal as the movie characters, not likely but then again that would have happened even if they've been developing the characters more. As long as they put out good stories, most people will stick around.

"I can tell you that there are definitely plans for post-FotJ stories. Just not sure yet what form and exactly what the stories will be."

_________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 11:09 am

Message

Darth SkuldrenModerator

Joined: 04 Feb 2008Posts: 6844Location: Missouri

Quote:

I think now that we're as far removed from the prequels as we are, the market for Star Wars novels is smaller than it was when they were being produced. Del Rey or whoever else picks up the license can't afford to flood the market with miscellaneous Star Wars books set across the spectrum of the timeline and in different subgenres with no direction and no primary series for readers to follow. They need to develop a baseline to draw in readers and, through its own merits of excellent writing and characters, re-establish interest in Star Wars novels without relying upon the films. Sales have dropped lately, and they need to draw *new* people in and bring back old people like my cousin, and there's no movies to do that, so they need to do it through a book series that's an event, like the NJO. Any single book isn't going to bring a bunch of new readers in, or old ones back.

I can agree with that. The NJO series really gave the EU a focus, but consequently it moved things forwards a whole lot and without realizing it, the next series to follow were made very important, and in those (Dark Nest and LOTF) they faltered (IMHO). Now with FOTJ nearing an end, it does raise the question of "what's next?" With all the people who've been complaining since NJO ended, we might just get a break from any focus for a while. If that happens, it'll be a lot more like the Bantam era (with Tales of books, X-Wing series, duologies, etc)_________________
"I believe toys resonate with us as humans, we can hold them them, it's tactile, real! They are totems for our extended beliefs and imaginations. A fetish for ideas that hold as much interest and passion as old religious relics for some. We display them in our homes. They show who we are. They are signals for similar thinking people. A way we connect with each other...and I guess thats why I do toys. That connection." -Ashley Wood

Posted: Tue May 24, 2011 1:31 pm

Message

Crash OverrideMaster

Joined: 22 Dec 2010Posts: 1962

On my phone browser so I will be brief: AFAIK, del reys schedule is filled through the end of their contract the end of 2013, so I assume any plans are extremely early and based on the presumption that del rey renews the contract. That shapiro, an editor for del rey, is discussing post-2013 plans may bode well for their renewal.

No one has picked up the roleplaying game and card game license. Maybe that's because it's much more of a niche market, but I think SW novels are sort of becoming niche now that we're six years removed from the prequels.

I tend to agree with that. I don't ever remember those sort of games being popular in my circle - well, just Pokemon, but even then no one actually played it as a card game, merely as a collection. Books are far more wide-ranging (they pre-date films, but don't quote me on that), but I don't think they're becoming niche. Sure, there is a lot of history that a new reader wouldn't be aware of, and to some degree they try to cater for that, but it is a rather large amount of history and exposition. But I still have to say: it's Star Wars. Books are still very accessible, and there's certainly more stories that can be told. Maybe a new company would be a good change (though I'm happy with Del Ray), as they'd have more of a drive to prove their worth, and providing a superb story and book series would be one way of doing it.

No offense taken. I just think that the Expanded Universe has had its "flagship" of the timeline continuing from Return of the Jedi onward all along featuring the protagonists of the classic trilogy, which has been the anchor for a lot of people to the EU. And lately, that's really started to lag in my mind, and I don't see how it's really tenable for them to continue it with Luke, Han, and Leia for much longer.

I...don't really understand how this comment connects with my one. To the best of my knowledge (tenuous at best) I wasn't saying that they had to continue with those as the main characters. Indeed, I've been calling for more diversification of character novels bringing in new ones for a long, long time. That can be done with those three just in the background.

And my cousin, for instance, no longer reads the EU and when I told him I think it could reboot he's excited by the prospect, and he's been reading it longer than I have and introduced me to it. He simply dislikes how it's gone after NJO and he's done with it.

Ah! But the EU is far more than that. How does he feel about the other eras?

Before the prequels were released, the Expanded Universe was almost exclusively focused upon the Big 3, with the exceptions being young adult novels (Galaxy of Fear), the X-Wing series, and Dark Horse comics like Crimson Empire and Tales of the Jedi. The success of Heir to the Empire and later books was predicated largely upon them being the continuation of the films. It really wasn't until there were prequel films to reignite wider interest in the franchise that the Expanded Universe began to branch out to do horror, noir, military, MASH style war drama, etc.

You know, this is the second time you've mentioned noir SW books, but still I'm at a loss for identifying them. Would you please put me out of my misery?

As to the last part, it may have been that they weren't allowed (read: they definitely weren't allowed) to delve into the pre-OT era very far before the PT was made. Indeed, the farthest they went was, to my memory, the Han and Lando books, which for some reason are classed as film tie-ins.

It is interesting to note that you say they predicate largely upon them being the continuation of the films. You may want to read Andrew's EU Dissection (the one before the CW reviews). It has pretty graphs, from which I took that they deal mainly around the films, with a small stream leading out beyond ROTJ, with a few blips here and there. These blips are the times they've gone beyond the films. It's my thought that, because they are not tied into the films (beyond the obvious SW universe), they feel that they must try much more harder for them to work, and I feel they succeed. Now, I'm not saying they're being lazy when they stick to the films - it's a case of being prudent. That is where, I'm sure, they make their most money, specifically because they revolve around the big three. I submit that it would be foolish not to. I also submit that they continue to have stories revolving around the films characters, but that it's simply that we have far more of them, just as we have far more 'outre' products.

I think now that we're as far removed from the prequels as we are, the market for Star Wars novels is smaller than it was when they were being produced. Del Rey or whoever else picks up the license can't afford to flood the market with miscellaneous Star Wars books set across the spectrum of the timeline and in different subgenres with no direction and no primary series for readers to follow. They need to develop a baseline to draw in readers and, through its own merits of excellent writing and characters, re-establish interest in Star Wars novels without relying upon the films. Sales have dropped lately, and they need to draw *new* people in and bring back old people like my cousin, and there's no movies to do that, so they need to do it through a book series that's an event, like the NJO. Any single book isn't going to bring a bunch of new readers in, or old ones back.

But there is a much more mainstream source of Star Wars that others have to draw on, now. Back in ye olde days, the EU was created because there were no new films or TV series's to look forward to. That's all people had if they wanted more SW action. The post-ROTJ audience is smaller because people can pick and choose what they want to watch, read, or listen to these days. I fail to see, however, how a civil war is not an event.

In the Sue Rostoni interview that was just posted, she says they don't have any plans for post-FOTJ currently. Maybe they're planning something down the line, but with Legacy ending completely and Del Rey probably not doing post-FOTJ stuff until 2014, that earlier comment strikes me more as a "in the future, if there's a scenario similar to the FOTJ/Legacy one, we'll communicate more."

Have skipped a bit of your post, but my response would have simply been a reiteration of what I've said earlier. Now: See my earlier post for a rebuttal (the Shapiro quote) of this.

For me, the Expanded Universe has [b]always been primarily about Luke, Han, and Leia.[/b]

Ah, but, Dream, just because it was for you it was only about those three, does not mean that it was so for others. By your own hand you acknowledge TOTJ, Crimson Empire and others, and before the 'real' EU started we had off-shoots. The one I shall bring forth to your mind at the moment is the Fenn Shysa lot (while technically about Leia, I stand firm by my choice) and the 'Boba Fett comics which were later retconned to be someone else' lot.

That's been the constant for twenty years. Now, we've reached a point where that's coming to an end, and personally I am wondering where that will leave the Expanded Universe when it does. I personally am not nearly as interested in the entire gamut of the EU as I have been in following Luke, Han, and Leia. I've read almost every Star Wars novel that's been published, and I can probably count on my hands the ones I haven't read, but without the main storyline to follow I don't know if I will continue or if I will slowly lose interest and stop.

Show off . But here we delve into mere opinion and taste. I, for one, will most likely not lose interest once the big three take a back seat._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.

Posted: Fri May 27, 2011 9:42 am

Message

Crash OverrideMaster

Joined: 22 Dec 2010Posts: 1962

Life Is The Path wrote:

Ah! But the EU is far more than that. How does he feel about the other eras?

He really doesn't care about stuff that is far removed from the films. He read the Darth Bane trilogy but thought it became progressively worse. He read the post-ROTJ stuff up to Invincible, which he says he threw against the wall after he finished it.

Life Is The Path wrote:

You know, this is the second time you've mentioned noir SW books, but still I'm at a loss for identifying them. Would you please put me out of my misery?

I'm inclined to believe via anecdotal evidence that a majority of people that read the EU do or did so with the movies as a baseline, and aren't interested in eras that are thousands of years away from them. Reading this forum or other EU forums might lead you to believe otherwise, but that's a selection bias. Of course most people at EU forums are going to tend to read all the EU and generally love it, that's why they're posting at forums. I think sometimes people take it for granted that because a lot of people at a Star Wars forum are generally satisfied with the EU, that this is the case for the majority of people.

I don't have any evidence and I didn't take a poll or anything, but that's what my experience as a SW fan has informed me of the situation, and that's what my opinion is based upon. I know I didn't really directly respond to some of your points, but ultimately my disagreements with them are opinions, and I don't want to argue that. I felt earlier I was just either clarifying my opinion, or explaining my reasoning behind it.

He really doesn't care about stuff that is far removed from the films. He read the Darth Bane trilogy but thought it became progressively worse. He read the post-ROTJ stuff up to Invincible, which he says he threw against the wall after he finished it.

He thought Bane got worse?

Quote:

You know, this is the second time you've mentioned noir SW books, but still I'm at a loss for identifying them. Would you please put me out of my misery?

The titles would have sufficed But, truly, I did not know they were written in the noir type. I thought it was just the way their covers were designed.

Quote:

I'm inclined to believe via anecdotal evidence that a majority of people that read the EU do or did so with the movies as a baseline, and aren't interested in eras that are thousands of years away from them. Reading this forum or other EU forums might lead you to believe otherwise, but that's a selection bias. Of course most people at EU forums are going to tend to read all the EU and generally love it, that's why they're posting at forums. I think sometimes people take it for granted that because a lot of people at a Star Wars forum are generally satisfied with the EU, that this is the case for the majority of people.

I don't have any evidence and I didn't take a poll or anything, but that's what my experience as a SW fan has informed me of the situation, and that's what my opinion is based upon. I know I didn't really directly respond to some of your points, but ultimately my disagreements with them are opinions, and I don't want to argue that. I felt earlier I was just either clarifying my opinion, or explaining my reasoning behind it.

I'm afraid I feel you're doing me a slight disservice, in believing that I think upon those lines. Of course it's possible that we may be the minority in that we like it all, but also we could be part of the majority. It is merely that I believe, if someone is going to pick up a Star Wars book, then they wouldn't mind so much if it didn't have the 'main' characters in it._________________I am a Star Wars fan. That doesn't mean that I hate or love Jar Jar. That doesn't mean I hate or love Lucas, or agree or disagree 100% with him. That doesn't mean I prefer the PT over the OT, or vice versa. That doesn't mean I hate the EU, or even love all of it (or even read all of it). These are not prerequisites. Being a man is not a prerequisite. Being a geek is not a prerequisite. The only prerequisite is that I love something about Star Wars. I am a Star Wars fan.